The primary objectives of a lighted helmet are to: adequately illuminate a field of interest to the operator; and not interfere with the helmet's protective functions. It should also be light weight, rugged in construction, pleasing in appearance, easy to turn on and off, and low in cost. When the helmet is not in use, a minimum of effort to remove and install the helmet is also desirable.
The primary objectives of an information display are to: provide needed information to an operator; and not interfere with operator vision or other operator functions. It should also be small, light weight, rugged in construction, pleasing in appearance, and low in cost. The ability to easily remove unnecessary displays is also desirable.
Most of the current lighted helmets and information displays may do some of these objectives well, but others poorly or not at all. Current battery operated lighted helmets are limited in candlepower or endurance because of battery weight limitations. Sufficiently large batteries would place an unacceptably high load on the operator head. When more light or endurance is required, separate portable battery packs or sources of power require connectors and cables. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,530,112 and 4,638,410 illustrate this type of lighted helmet.
The use of helmet mounted lights for operators of motorcycles provides major advantages, especially for highly maneuverable recreational applications. During maneuvers, the field of interest is not necessarily in front of the motorcycle (where fixed mounted lights illuminate), or in the rotational plane of the front wheel (where front fork mounted lights illuminate). The field of operator interest is where the operator wants to go (or avoid going). A helmet mounted light allows the operator to illuminate this field by a turn or lift of his or her head.
Current vehicle related information displays are typically attached to the vehicle. Some of the displays are lighted, if needed for night operation. Vehicle speed, direction, and other information must be derived by glancing to the displays and away from (down) the field of interest.
More sophisticated information displays, such as used for military applications, are attached to a helmet. A visor or other helmet surface provides a surface for displaying targeting or other information. This type of information display requires additional power, power and sensor cables, and connectors. The cost and complexity of the helmet mounted display has resulted in limited current applications, except for the military.
If a lighted helmet is used by a vehicle operator, such as on a motorcyclist, glancing can also remove the light from the field of interest. This can result in a dangerous situation for night-time vehicle operation. As a result, along with other facts, most motorcycle-type lights are mounted to the vehicle, as illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,264. If helmet mounted lights are used, they may be used with the vehicle mounted lights to avoid these glancing to information display problems.
These prior vehicle mounted displays, vehicle lights and multi-light approaches have many limitations. These are primarily related to the multiplicity of elements (e.g., lights for the displays, lights on the vehicle and lights on the helmet) required to accomplish the operating objectives. This multiplicity creates added cost, weight and space. This multiplicity of elements, weight and space also particularly detract from the safety of the operator. The required glancing away from the road or critical area of interest in order to read the information display distracts the operator.
What is needed is a display means which does not require the light helmet wearer to glance away from the illuminated field of interest. What is also needed is to reduce the complexity and multiplicity of information display components.